Lever for Change competitions require applicants to submit a short video with closed captioning. Full guidelines for the video are included in the competition application. The following resources showcase example videos and provide technical guidance on creating and captioning videos.

Storytelling is a key component of communicating your impact and building support for your solution externally. The following resources provide guidance on how to use storytelling effectively in your communications and fundraising efforts as well as how to assess your organization’s current fundraising capabilities.

All projects have some level of inherent risk, but the most effective organizations put systems in place to effectively manage risk. The following resources provide some tips on understanding and mitigating risk in your application and strategies.

An organization’s leadership – both the executive team and board – are critical for realizing the organization’s vision. The following resources provide an overview of the characteristics of strong nonprofit leaders and boards.

We can often achieve greater impact when we work together. The following resources provide guidance both for considering new collaborations as well as strengthening existing collaborations.

Lever for Change is committed to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all competitions. The following resources clarify concepts related to different aspects of DEI and provide guidance on incorporating a focus on DEI into your programming and teams.

Understanding and assessing your impact are critical components of a strong strategy characterized by learning and growth. The following resources provide information on building strong measurement and evaluation into your strategies as well as an introduction to the theory of change concept.

In order to scale your ideas and programming, you need a strong strategy in place at both the organizational and project levels. The following resources provide guidance around strategic planning for execution and scale.

Lever for Change competitions require a project budget and clear narrative on how you will use competition funds. Full guidelines for the budget components are included in the competition application. The following resources provide guidance for creating an inclusive budget to fund your idea as well as overviews of other relevant financial topics for mission-driven entities.

Creating a factsheet for a project can be a powerful way to communicate about your program to potential funders and other key stakeholders. Factsheets are often used for promotional and fundraising purposes and, if done well, they can help tell the story of an organization’s work in a dynamic and pithy way.